This is a novel and an allegorical story about some knights who travel on a quest to reach a beautiful kingdom called the Kingdom of Heaven. As they go, they encounter giants, evil knights, swamps, perils, cliffs, dungeons, castles, evil Medieval lords, traps, dark forests, cunning enemies, and powerful weapons. They must fight for their lives and overcome all obstacles with the use of their weapons and armor, namely the Sword of the Spirit, and the Shield of Faith, and the power of God.
- BOOK 2 -
Faith Challenged
- A Novel / Allegory -
By: Justin Brown (a pen name)
Date Created: Jan. 23, 2019
Chapter 9
The Storm at Sea
[Caravel: A small,
Portuguese merchant vessel. It typically was lateen-rigged (i.e. having large, triangular
sails) and had usually two masts. It had a raised half-deck (in the stern /
rear) which provided cover for sailors to sleep under. But, caravels had no
forecastle.] [Upper deck: A
ship deck which has a good portion of it open to the sky.]
Reaching the wooden railing
at the aft port side, he peered down toward the dark, turbulent water. A
man suddenly emerged from the waves, gasping for breath. He grabbed the sealed,
wooden barrel the captain had tossed overboard and hung on for dear life.
[Aft port side: The
portion of a ship, on the port side, that is closer to the stern than it is
toward the bow.] [Port side:
The port side is the left side of a ship,
from the perspective of someone standing on a ship, facing the bow (the
front).]
Then, the captain threw him a
rope, and the man reached for it. But, it was just beyond his grasp. So, the
captain drew it in and tried again. Ka-boom! Lighting flashed and
thunder roared, but the seamen did their best to ignore it. One end of the rope
was thrown out again, and it splashed into the water two feet from the
overboard sailor.
The man grabbed it, and the
captain and two other crew members pulled the man toward the ship. Markus ran
over to them and grabbed a section of the rope. In several seconds, they had
pulled the man back up to the upper deck of
the ship. He was dripping wet, but glad to be alive.
[Upper deck: A ship
deck which has a good portion of it open to the sky.]
“You almost lost your life,”
the captain said almost apologetically. “I’m sorry to have ordered you to risk
your life like that.”
“That’s okay,” the sailor
said, wiping his nose.
“Now, get below deck if you want to survive
this storm,” the captain said. “I’ll have them get a fire going in the galley
stove, and we’ll try to get you warm.”
Just as he said that, a wave
suddenly washed over the ship and crashed into the men. They fell to the deck
and slid toward the port-side railing of the ship. Markus was soaked and
winded. He hadn’t expected the sea to be so rough, and the storm was worse than
he had imagined. So, he prayed and asked God to bring calmness to the sea.
Then, he heard a still, small
voice.
“My son,” God’s kind and
loving voice said to Markus’s spirit, “the reason that this storm struck you so
suddenly is because I am both calling out to these sailors and also to you and
your friends. You see, you did not ask Me if you should take this man’s vessel
across the sea. You should have sought Me and waited on Me before you leaped
ahead. But, I am with you, and I will calm the sea and protect you. Now, rebuke
the sea in the name of Jesus, and it will calm down. The wind will be calm
again. Go ahead and do that, My son. And, I the LORD your God and Abba Father
have spoken.”
“Thank you, Abba Father God,”
Markus said with water dripping over his face. “I didn’t think straight. You’re
right. I should have asked you about this man and about taking his vessel. I am
sorry for that and I ask your forgiveness for just following My carnal mind.”
“You’re forgiven My son. Now,
rebuke the sea,” God said.
Looking over the railing at
the heaving waves, Markus suddenly shouted, “I rebuke the wind, the sea, and
the storm in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ.”
The sailors turned toward
Markus and one said, “Are you crazy? What are you saying? Rebuking the sea?”
Then, miraculously, the rain
stopped falling and the wind began to calm down. In a few seconds, the waves
returned to their normal state, and the dark clouds began to lighten in color
and dissipate. Blue sky slowly began to return. As this happened, the sailors
looked at one another with amazement and brushed droplets of water from their
foreheads and beards.
The captain stood to his feet
and stared at Markus with a look of bewildered amazement. “You,” he said,
walking over to Markus and pointing a finger, “who are you? How? How did this
miracle take place?”
A hatch opened in upper deck
and more sailors emerged, followed by Markus’s friends.
“The God I serve and love is
my Abba Father. He adopted me through Jesus Christ. He is also the Creator of
the wind,” Markus said, still dripping, “and the thunder, the seas, and all
things. He told me how to rebuke a stormy sea in the Name of His Only Begotten
Son, Jesus Christ.”
“That is amazing,” Captain
Bartholomew Herring said, blinking several times. “Your God is the God of the
impossible.”
“What is humanly impossible is possible for God,” Markus said.
“What is humanly impossible is possible for God,” Markus said.
“I want to learn about this
God of yours,” the captain said, approaching Markus with an earnest expression
on his face. “Will you tell me more about His Son, Jesus Christ?”
All five of Bartholomew’s
sailors came forward to hear what Markus had to say.
“I would love to tell you,”
Markus said. Then, he told the captain, and the curious sailors standing
nearby, about the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. He also spoke of
the loving and holy nature of God the Father, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit,
the Trinity of God. He spoke of how the wages of sin is death and how salvation
and eternal life come through Jesus Christ, by simply believing on Jesus Christ’s
Name.
[Note: Read about
Salvation at the end of this chapter.]
When he was done speaking,
the five sailors and their captain wanted to receive Jesus as their personal
Savior and Lord. Markus told them how to pray, and they asked Jesus Christ to
wash away their sins in His blood. All the men on the deck knew they were
sinners. They confessed that they believed that Jesus Christ had died on the
cross to pay for their sins and to reconcile them to God.
The seamen now realized that
the holy and very loving, kind, and caring God the Father wanted them to be His
friends and His sons. Markus explained that fellowship with God required
admitting to God Himself alone when they had sinned (i.e. confession)
and choosing to turn away from it (i.e. repentance).
“Do we need to see a priest
or a pastor?” a sailor asked.
“No priest or pastor is
needed to assist you in this choice because Jesus Christ Himself is the King of
kings and the Great High Priest,” Markus said, “who paid for our sins with His
own blood.”
“And,” Markus added, “God’s
Word says this truth in Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 3: ‘[3] The Lord hath appeared
of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love : therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.’ [Jeremiah
31:3.] Abba Father God wants you to become His adopted son so that you can
receive His everlasting love and have good fellowship with Him. Father God
draws you to Himself with His lovingkindness.”
“I
want to receive that love,” a sailor said.
“Very
good,” Markus said, smiling. “Jeremiah chapter 33, verse 3, says: ‘[3]
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which
thou knowest not.’ [Jeremiah 33:3.] So, Abba Father God will speak
with you directly. You can talk to Him, and He will respond to you.”
A Significant Day
Aboard Captain Herring’s Caravel
The next day, the men
gathered in a small galley below decks about two hours after sunrise.
The cook served them hot bowls of porridge, slices of Emmental cheese,
fresh biscuits, and apples. They took their plates and bowls and sat down on
benches before two long, narrow tables. Candles in octagonal lantern cases hung
from the ceiling, providing buttery-yellow light for the setting.
[Galley: A kitchen
on a ship.] [Emmental cheese:
This is a kind of hard cheese originally from Switzerland. It has large holes
and a unique flavor.]
After they had visited for a
while, Andrew stood up and spoke loud enough for all to hear.
“Men and brothers,” Andrew
said, “God has show me that we need to change our heading from north west to
north.”
Chatter filled the room as
sailors began talking amongst themselves about Andrew’s statement. After a few
moments, Captain Herring stood up and faced Andrew.
“Sir, do you realize that if
we were to go directly north, we could run into pirates?” Bartholomew Herring
said, squinting one eye as he spoke. “They sail fast sloops or brigantines along the
northern portion of this inland sea. A naval fort of Almirante Acantilado is
located close to the port town of Mercancia. The fort guards the town
which is full of busy merchants.”
[Sloop: A single-masted sailing vessel. It has one headsail
which runs from the bowsprit to the foremast. The bowsprit is a thick, wooden beam that juts out from the bow (i.e.
front) of the boat. The foremast is the
mast closest to the front of the vessel.]
[Brigantine: A ship with two masts. It has square-rigged sails on
the foremast. These sails are at right angles to the length of the ship. The
mainmast has fore-and-aft sails. Such sails hang from a pole gaff on the mast.]
The brown-bearded captain
rubbed together his index fingertip and thumb tip to signify coins. He still
squinted with one eye as he said, “Gold is purchased in Mercancia and is
loaded up in galleons to be brought over to the southeastern end of the lake
where a large river, the Pacifico, emerges from the eastern end of this
inland sea.”
The captain began walking
toward Andrew as he spoke. “The galleons take
the gold to the Kingdom of Oro Pico if they are able to escape the
pirates. About two percent of the galleons are captured and looted by
marauders. But, those scoundrels will certainly go after a small ship like
mine.”
[Galleon: This is a
large, three-masted sailing ship which was often used by the Spanish.]
“The captain is right,” one
of the sailors said, piping up. “I don’t want to sail in pirate waters.”
“But, God told me that He
would like us to sail north,” Andrew said. “He will defend us if we do His
will. Captain Herring, why don’t you seek God about what He’d like you to know
regarding this matter?”
“Bah,” the captain said,
waving a hand in disgust. “I don’t see how God would want us to risk our lives
needlessly. Let us sail due west. There is a port town that is controlled by
the Duchy of Colina. My father came from that duchy, so they are good to
me.”
Andrew tried to persuade the
captain to seek God, but he wouldn’t listen. His mind was made up. After
finishing breakfast, the crew went about the ship and did various chores.
The rest of the day passed
peacefully as the caravel sailed due west.
Markus and his friends talked with the crew, helped with some chores, sought
God, and read their Bibles. Hours later, the night came, and the men went below
the deck to their collapsible sleeping cots. Soon, they were fast asleep.
[Caravel: A small,
Portuguese merchant vessel. It typically was lateen-rigged (i.e. having large,
triangular sails) and had usually two masts. It had a raised half-deck (in the
stern / rear) which provided cover for sailors to sleep under. But, caravels
had no forecastle.]
Two hours past midnight,
something thumped lightly against the side of the caravel. Markus stirred in
his hammock. His eyes slowly began to open. Two minutes later, he heard
the sound of many feet walking across the deck above his head. Markus sat up,
rubbing his eyes.
[Hammock: This is a
hanging bed, which can be made of canvas, netting, or a different material. It
is suspended at either end of the bed.]
The feet appeared to be
moving as quietly as possible, but some of the deck planks creaked overhead.
Then, a hatch slowly opened in the upper deck, which formed the ceiling above
his head. Leather boots appeared in the opening, and a man armed with a wheel-lock musket carefully descended the
wooden stairs beneath the trap door.
[Note: The wheel-lock musket came out at a later time
than the year 1500 (when this story takes place), but it is used in this story
because this book is both fictional and allegorical. The wheel-lock musket has
a coiled spring connected to a spinning disk of metal--the wheel lock. When the
trigger is pulled, the metal disk begins spinning rapidly and rubbing against a
piece of flint. Sparks fly out and hit black powder in a tiny flash pan. The
powder in the pan ignites and burns in through a small hole where it explodes
black powder in the main chamber. A musket ball is shot out through the barrel
toward its target. No ordinary armor worn by knights could withstand the musket
ball.]
The man had a dirk clamped between his teeth and an lustful
expression on his bearded face. He wore a nasal helmet (a helmet with a
nose guard) as his only armor. As he reached the last step, a second man
descended the steep steps behind him.
[Dirk: This
is a long-bladed dagger which has a straight blade. Scottish Highlanders once
used the dirk as a weapon.] [Nasal
helm: This was a round helmet with a nose guard also called a “nasal.”
The nose guard (or nasal) was a piece of metal that projected down over the
nose. The nasal helmet was commonly worn by Normans and Vikings. But, it was used
during much of the Middle Ages. Some nasal helms were more pointy on top and
others were more rounded, like hemispheres.]
Markus began silently praying
as armed men began filling the orlop deck where
he and his friends had been sleeping. Several men stirred in their sleep and
grunted. Then, the captain suddenly awoke and sat up in bed. But, he found the
barrel of a wheel-lock musket pointing at his face.
[Orlop deck: This
was a deck in a sailing ship just above the hold. The hold was located at the bottom
of the ship, near the keel. The keel is a ridge of timber or metal that
runs along the bottom of the ship from its bow to its stern.]
“Don’t you make a move, or I
will send you to your grave,” a long-bearded pirate, holding the gun, said.
The captain nodded slowly and
blinked several times. Fear was in his eyes. What he had dreaded was now
standing before him with a gun aimed at his head.
“Tie up those sailors,” a
pirate first mate ordered his men.
Strong, wound-up cords were
dropped through the open hatch. And the man with the dirk between his teeth
removed the dagger and began cutting lengths of cord. Soon, the pirates were
binding the hands of the sailors and the four pilgrims behind their backs.
“What are you going to do
with us?” Gregory said with fear in his voice.
“Be quiet and obey our
orders,” the pirate first mate said.
In a short time, all 10
sailors, their captain, and the four pilgrims were bound with ropes. They were roughly
brought up to the upper deck of the caravel. From there, they were hoisted by
ropes up into a 90-foot-long carrack (a 3-masted ship), which
rested up against the side of Bartholomew’s caravel.
[Carrack: This was a
three-masted sailing ship used during the Middle Ages. Its sails typically were
square rigged (i.e. they were quadrilateral sails). It had a forecastle and an
aft castle, like a galleon. On a carrack, the aft castle (where the great cabin
was) had three “levels” (or floors).]
In the Ballast Room
Twelve pirates remained
behind on the caravel while the rest entered the carrack. Once all the
prisoners were situated in the carrack, pirates on the caravel untied ropes
which fastened the two vessels together. Then, men with long poles pushed the
pirate ship away from the caravel. And, before long, a steady breeze caught the
sails of the carrack and sent it sailing across the sea. It traveled in an
easterly direction, nearly directly opposite of Captain Herring’s desired
heading.
The prisoners were placed
down in the bottom of the ship, in the hold, near the keel, where ballast was
stored. It was a pitch-dark and gloomy place filled with ballast rocks. No
light was provided for the men. Overhead, thick planks squeaked with the sound
of boots walking across the orlop deck.
While he was being taken
below deck, Markus had seen a little bit of lower-gun deck (which was
directly below the upper deck). On that deck, he had noticed wooden barrels
and oaken chests, which he thought might be filled with gold. The wooden
containers occupied a small portion of the lower-gun deck, leaving room for
more loot.
Now, in the darkness of the
hold, Markus Christian felt overwhelmed and deeply troubled. He felt as if God
had abandoned him. The pilgrim feared that the pirates might give him and all
his friends painful deaths. So, he silently and inwardly cried out to
God and told Him of his concerns and fears.
“Abba Father God,” Markus
said quietly after a few minutes of pouring out his heart. “Abba Father, will
you show me why you allowed those pirates to capture us and take us aboard
their ship?”
“Markus, My son,” Abba God’s
kind voice said, “I love you very much. You are precious to Me. You are very
dear to Me. I love you. I will tell you that your fears are unfounded. I will
keep you safe.”
Hearing those words brought
comfort to Markus’s aching heart.
“The captain made some
foolish decisions,” Abba God’s kind voice said, “especially since I have shown
Andrew to tell him to go north instead of west. But, the captain not listening
to My Spirit brought this upon you as a group. However, because you love Me, I
will deliver you. I will not let the pirates lay a violent hand upon you. They
will not kill you or torture you.”
‘That’s good to know,’ Markus
thought as peace began to fill his spirit.
“Soon,” God’s voice
continued, “you will arrive at the town the captain was speaking of. It is a
merchant town. There, you will be offered up for sale in a slave market. Trust
Me, and I will show you how to escape from that place. And, I the LORD your God
and Abba Father have spoken.”
Markus breathed deeply and
thanked God from the depths of his heart.
“Markus,” Henry’s voice said
from the darkness.
“Yes, Henry,” Markus said,
turning toward the voice.
“I thought I heard you
whispering something,” Henry said. “What were you saying, if I may ask?”
“I was speaking with Abba
Father God. He told me some interesting and encouraging things,” Markus said.
“What were they?” Henry
asked.
Markus then informed Henry of
what he had heard. Unseen by Markus, Henry’s eyes lit up with joy. The bearded
50-year-old said, “I am so glad to know that God is looking out for us. He
spoke to me too. A few minutes ago, Father God told me to look to Him, and
rest in Him, and that all would work out well.”
“That is wonderful,” Markus
said. “We will see how He will deliver us.”
“What are you two speaking
of?” Sergio Egoista, a sailor, said.
“God just showed me some
encouraging things,” Markus said.
“What were they?” Sergio
said.
After Markus had told him
about what God had said, Sergio gave a sad chuckle. “Are you sure you are
hearing from God? Those pirates are either going to sell us in a slave market
or just kill us in cold blood. Whoever buys us at the slave market – if we make
it there alive – will bring us to a plantation far away. There, we will be
branded with the owner’s logo and made to work long hours in the hot sun.
Likely we will be purchased by various plantation owners, and we will never see
each other again. If we do escape from such a plantation, we’ll be hunted down
and brutally killed.”
Hearing those words felt like
a hammer blow to Markus’s faith. With the darkness surrounding him, the pilgrim
began to feel discouraged again. The trial was getting harder and harder. But
he now doubted that he could actually trust Father God to fulfill what He had
said. And, he began to doubt that God had even spoken to him.
At the Town of
Mercancia
Two days later, the ship laid
anchor at the port town of Mercancia. Longboats brought the 15 prisoners from
the pirate’s ship to a large dockyard. Masts rose high into the air like a
forest of trees. They sprouted from fishing boats and small merchant ships
clustered by wooden wharfs. Seagulls wheeled about and cried as they flew
overhead, searching for grub to eat.
Built up on some gentle hills
near the shore, Mercancia consisted of half-timbered, thatch-roofed buildings;
crooked, cobblestone streets; and a few stone church buildings, which belonged
to the Catholic religion. Townspeople and visitors bustled about the city,
conducting their business as if nothing else mattered. Fish merchants offered
fresh seafood from wagons parked along the streets of the town. Opened barrels
displayed cleaned-out fish such as carp, bass, pike, salmon, and trout.
Near the middle of the town
sat the busy town square. A raised platform was the center of attention as an
auction was taking place around it. Dozens of men standing around gazed up at a
white man on the platform. He was wearing old clothing and his wrists were
shackled together. Another white man stepped onto the platform and began
conducting an auction.
He was clean-shaven and
dressed in a long, indigo tunic and brown trousers.
The pilgrims and their armed
escorts arrived at the slave auction just as the auctioneer began speaking.
“Welcome to the Mercancia
slave auction. We have here for your interest today a sturdy-looking man of
about age 40,” he said. The auctioneer mentioned the prisoner’s name and his
weight. Then, he began tossing out prices, starting with low numbers. “Who’ll
buy him for 5 Oro Pico guilders, 6, 7, 10, …”
After the price had reached a
certain amount, no more potential “buyers” would bid any higher. So, the
prisoner was sold to the man who bid the highest price. “He is sold for 10 Oro
Pico guilders.
[Note: The Oro Pico
guilders are fictional coins based on the Dutch guilder coin. One of these coins
might be equal to the money earned in two and a half hours of work by a
low-income worker.]
While the auctioneer spoke,
the pirates brought their prisoners into a three-storied, stone building at the
edge of the town square. There, they were placed in a few prison cells. A
little while later, the prisoners’ names and ages were written down on a
scroll. Then, their body weights and heights were recorded by human soldiers
with the help of a weight scale and measuring rods.
Shortly after this had taken
place, Markus heard heavy footfalls coming down the stone corridor outside his
cell. Peering between the bars of his cell door, Markus saw a knight in
dark-grey armor walking down the hallway. The knight walked slowly but steadily
toward a human soldier who was writing down information on a parchment scroll
spread out on a portable bench. The soldier had just finished measuring Markus’s
height and body weight.
The knight walked past a
sturdy weight scale that rested in the corridor and he stopped in front of the
soldier at the bench. The man looked up and was somewhat surprised to see an
armored knight standing before him.
“How may I assist you, sir?”
the soldier said, lowering his writing quill.
“I would like to purchase all
of these slaves,” the dark-grey knight said with an even tone. He untied cords
binding a wide, leather pouch to his belt. Then, he removed some large, golden
coins from the pouch and held them up. They sparkled in the buttery-yellow
light of torches fastened to the corridor walls.
“Give me all 15 of these men,
and I will pay you handsomely,” the knight said.
“You’re bribing me?” the
soldier said.
“If you wish to call it that, yes,” the knight said as he tossed a large, gold coin to the guard, who caught it in his palm.
“If you wish to call it that, yes,” the knight said as he tossed a large, gold coin to the guard, who caught it in his palm.
“Don’t tell anyone that I was
the one to sell you these slaves,” the soldier-scribe said with a mixture of
greed and nervousness.
“It will be our secret,” the
knight said, chuckling softly, as he tossed the scribe another gold coin.
Footsteps came down the hallway,
startling the scribe. He turned to see a second knight striding down the
corridor. He also wore dark-grey armor. And, this knight carried a big wooden
chest in his arms.
“Who is this?” the guard said
nervously.
“This is my colleague,” the
first knight said as he handed the guard the bag of coins. “You may leave now.
We will handle these prisoners ourselves.”
The soldier accepted the bag
with an avaricious smile. “Okay. I will pretend I never saw this happen.”
The second knight set his
wooden chest down and opened it, revealing thick, metal chains and handcuffs.
In minutes, the soldier-scribe and the two knights had unlocked the prison
cells and had shackled (handcuffed) all of the prisoners together.
“You two are free to do as
you please,” the scribe said as he clutched the leather bag.
“It was good doing business,”
a knight said. “Bye.”
Then, the human guard wheeled
around and strode down the hall, laughing quietly to himself as he tossed the
bag of gold coins into the air several times.
When he was gone, the two
dark-grey knights drew out whips and snapped them in the air. “You humans will
now start walking forward,” one said harshly. “And, do as I say!”
Somewhat reluctantly, Captain
Herring, his men, and the four pilgrims walked down the stone corridor toward
the door they had come through earlier. No human guards were to be seen
anywhere. So, Markus guessed that the dark-grey knights had bribed them to
leave the area.
“Keep moving, you slaves!”
the knight at the end of the column said as he cracked his whip over their
heads.
The prisoners passed through
the door and walked out into the open air. Four covered wagons were awaiting
them. The wagons were pulled by teams of large, sable-colored horses. The
wagons were made of dark-red-painted oak and had black cloth stretched over a
metal framework to conceal their human cargos.
As Markus was marched toward
the rear of a wagon, he saw more dark-grey knights within. There appeared to be
no escape. The long metal chains that linked the prisoners together were
removed. Then, they were shoved into the four wagons and grabbed by the strong
hands of the knights within.
The prisoners’ cold, metal
handcuffs remained closed tightly around their wrists as they sat in the wagons
and wondered where they were being taken. Flaps in the front and rear of the
covered wagon were lowered from above and fastened down to prevent the
prisoners from seeing the world outside their transports.
‘There is no way of escape,’
Markus thought gloomily.
Leaving Mercancia
Hours passed with few stops.
At last, another break came. The wagons pulled over to the side of a dirt road,
and the rear flaps were opened. An evil knight squeezed out of Markus’s wagon
and stood outside on the rear running board of the wagon. He was fastening a
cloth flap to the top of the wagon covering. Through the opening, Markus could
see a road with dense pine trees nearby. The road seemed to meander down a
hill. During his trip in the wagon, Markus had noticed that few wagons or
horses ever passed by them.
“You will go one at a time
and take your break. Then, the next prisoner will come for his turn,” the
knight said once he had fastened the flap.
Markus watched Henry step out
of the wagon and hop to the ground below. The dark-grey knight locked a metal
cuff, which was fastened to a long chain, onto Henry’s right forearm. The other
end of the chain was attached to the hinder end of the wagon. Then, the knight
took a key and unlocked Henry’s left handcuff. The pilgrim’s hands were now
free, except for the long chain and attached handcuff.
Just as Henry was stretching
his arms and legs, Markus noticed something he had totally missed before.
Awareness and clarity donned on him as he beheld the dark grey knight again in
the sunlight. The knight had a word painted in black on his great helm.
With the sunlight hitting the foe’s helmet just right, Markus could read a word
painted on it in blue: “Doubt.”
[Great helm: This
was a strong, bulky, heavy helmet that fully protected the head and neck of the
wearer. It was worn by crusaders and other knights in the Middle Ages. Small
eye slits and breathing holes appear in the front of the big helmet, which
sometimes was called a “barrel helm.” Unlike the close helm, the great helm could
be removed by simply pulling it up.]
‘These knights are
supernatural foes,’ Markus realized. ‘I should have seen this sooner. I have
the armor of God and the sword of the Spirit, God’s living Word. I am not going
to let them lead me into ruin and perdition. I don’t belong to them. I
belong to Father God.’
[Perdition:
Everlasting destruction in Hell. See 1 Timothy 6:9, Revelation 3:5, 2
Thessalonians 1:9, Ezekiel 9, Ezekiel 33:13, Revelation 21:7-8, Hebrews 10,
etc.]
The enemy knights in the
wagon were surprised to see him harnessed (i.e. armored up) and armed,
and they quickly drew their broadswords.
“Markus,” Gregory said, “your
armor is visible again.”
“It is because these knights
are our supernatural foes. And, God is with us!” Markus cried as he swung his
sharp broadsword toward the dark fabric covering the wagon. His sharp sword
slashed it like a razor cutting through cobwebs.
“I will destroy you pilgrims,”
an enemy knight said as he drew an ugly broadsword from its scabbard.
“We do have the armor of God!”
Gregory shouted just as his armor suddenly appeared all over his body. His
shackles crumbled into dust as he reached for his sheathed sword.
Drawing the broadsword,
Gregory attacked the evil knights closest to him. With swift and powerful
blows, he struck their swords, sallet helmets, and shields. Ring. Clang. Ding.
A battle ensued as more pilgrims found that their armored had suddenly
reappeared. Swords clashed together and the evil knights hurled vicious words
at their combatants. As the battle continued, ‒ clang, ding, pong ‒ the pilgrim
knights slashed through the wagon coverings and fought the battle on the side
of the dirt road.
Captain Herring and his men,
who were new believers, heard the fighting and the clash of metal. They had
become pilgrims out at sea after the powerful storm had been stilled by an act
of God. Hearing the sounds of battle, Bartholomew Herring leaned forward.
Suddenly a metal point poked
through the rear flap of the wagon covering. The metal tip sliced through the
black fabric with ease. Leaning forward, the captain and the rest of the
occupants of the wagon saw a knight harnessed in
brilliant, silver-colored armor. The man lifted his visor, and Bartholomew saw
the face of Markus. [Harnessed:
An old term for being equipped with armor and weapons.]
“Markus, what are you doing
here?” the captain said. “What’s that sound of fighting I hear?”
“I’m here to rescue you,”
Markus said.
“No, you won’t,” a dark-grey
knight said from behind the captain. The evil knight charged toward Markus and
swung at his helmet with the sharp, pointed end of a war hammer, but Markus
deflected the blow ‒ clang ‒ and slammed his shield against the evil knight’s sallet
helmet ‒ ding.
[Sallet: See Chapter
1 for more information.]
The foe fell over backward,
providing Markus the opportunity to strike him hard and fast with his
broadsword. Clang. Ting. Clash. Blow after blow landed on the enemy’s
helmet, pauldrons, and breastplate. Then, the evil knight
suddenly snapped into action and kicked Markus in the breastplate, sending him
falling backward to the ground. The evil knight leaped out after him, seeking
to destroy him.
[Pauldron: This is shoulder armor that also covers part of the
upper back and a portion of the upper breastplate.]
‘What is this armor that
Markus is wearing?’ Bartholomew wondered to himself.
“Stay where you are,” an evil
knight said across from Bartholomew.
“Father God,” Bartholomew
said, “I want that armor that Markus has. Will you give me armor that I may
fight these evil soldiers?”
“Yes, My son,” Abba God’s
kind voice spoke to him softly. “I will do that for you.”
Just as God spoke, shiny,
silvery armor suddenly appeared on Bartholomew Herring, and his shackles turned
to dust. The evil knight across from him was surprised, but the surprise didn’t
last long. The knight suddenly lunged toward him with a battle axe, and
Bartholomew had to block the blow with his shield. Clang. The pilgrim
knight drew his sword and began using it against the foe. Ping. Clang, Crash.
Metal rang against metal as they fought.
Seeing their captain and
fellow brother in the Lord fighting, the captured sailors prayed to God and
asked for Him to give them armor too. In moments, they also were encased in
shiny metal and freed from their handcuffs. Drawing their new broadswords, the armored
sailors entered the fight.
Overwhelmed by the faith of
the pilgrims and by the fact that they all were fighting, the evil knights
began to slowly retreat. The dark-grey shields of the enemy were beginning to
crack as the pilgrims’ powerful broadswords struck them with truth combined
with faith. No weapon could withstand the power of a pilgrim’s supernatural
sword, for the sword of the Spirit is sharper than any two-edged sword.
“You humans will perish and
be defeated!” an evil knight, named “Fear,” shouted as he fought Gregory.
Gregory blocked an axe blow
with his shield – clang – and said, “Romans chapter 8, verse 37
says: ‘Nay,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.’ [Romans
8:31.]”
“Praise our awesome God for
giving us the victory over our strong foes,” Markus Christian said, looking up.
“Amen,” Andrew said.
Chapter 10
Leaving the Wagons
“He certainly did,” Markus
said, approaching him. “Bartholomew, I’m glad to see you have put on the
Ephesians 6 armor.”
“What’s that?” Bartholomew
said.
“It is the armor that a
pilgrim wears to combat the enemy, like we were doing,” Markus replied, smiling
warmly. “You can read about it in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6.”
Andrew walked over to them
and said, “Ephesians chapter 6 says this in verses 10 through 12: ‘[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the
power of his might. [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. [12] For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’
[Ephesians 6:10-12.] ”
“So, we are wrestling or fighting against the devil and his
minions?” Bartholomew said.
“That’s right,” Andrew replied. “But, God gives us the power to
overcome the evil creatures. Jesus said that apart from Him, we can do nothing.
In John chapter 15, verse 5, Jesus said, ‘[5] I am the vine,
ye are
the
branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing.’ [John 15:5.]”
“That is encouraging,”
Captain Herring said. “I’ve felt sometimes like a ship in a storm, being tossed
up and down, hit by large waves. But, God is here to help me. That is
comforting.”
“Psalm chapter 9,”
Henry said as he approached the group, “in verses 9 and 10, says, ‘[9]
The
Lord
also
will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. [10] And they
that know thy name will put their trust in thee : for thou, Lord, hast not
forsaken them that seek thee.’”
“Praise God! He will be our
refuge. I believe it,” Bartholomew said, looking upward.
After a time of rejoicing and
praising God, the pilgrims sought God where to go, and He showed them to
continue walking down the road. After walking a mile, they passed a large,
wooden sign. It was placed near a turnoff which branched to the right of the
trail they took. The large sign warned pilgrims not to head down the turnoff
road, for it led to the Prison of Unbelief.
“That turnoff must have been
the route those enemy knights had planned to take us,” Gregory said as he
stared at the sign.
“I think you’re right,”
Markus said after reading the sign.
The pilgrims moved on and walked down the main road for several more miles. As the went deeper and deeper into the woods, they began to notice that thick fog was settling in and dark clouds were starting to cover the sky. Soon, they could barely see the trail ahead of them. More fog rolled in, making the trail very hard to see. The ground began to get softer and moist. Their steel sabatons (armored, jointed shoes) began giving squishing sounds as they walked.
[Sabaton (singular
noun): A sabaton was a jointed piece of metal foot
armor (for each foot) that was designed to articulate (or move like a
hinge) as the knight walked. The armor that covered a knight’s lower leg below the knee and above the sabaton
was called a greave. Poleyn were armored knee guards.]
“We’re lost,” Gregory said,
troubled.
“If we just keep going
forward, we’ll be able to see the trail,” Markus said. “I know it has to be
here close by.”
The men walked a few more
steps through the water-soaked ground when, all of a sudden, rapid motion and a
metallic blur came from Markus’s left and right. Then large, metal triangles
slammed together – clang – to form a pyramidal cage around Markus and
seven other men.
Trapped
“What just happened!” Gregory
cried, dropping his broadsword, in surprise, as the trap snapped shut around
him.
Several more splashes
followed as Markus and the men in the cage also dropped their swords. Fear
powerfully grip their chests. ‘This isn’t supposed to happen,’ Markus thought
fearfully. Alarmed, he and the other men dropped their shields and ran toward
the sides of the pyramid, which consisted of prison-like bars.
[Equilateral: This
refers to having sides of an equal length. One side is equal in length to
another side of an equilateral triangle.]
Markus gripped some metal
bars with his gauntlets (armored gloves) and tried to push a triangular
side, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Rrr,” he grunted as he
pushed with all his might.
His muscles began to ache as
he tried to shove the triangular side back down, but he only succeeded in
pushing his steel sabatons (i.e. armored,
jointed shoes) deeper into the mud.
All three triangular sides
were attached to a triangular base hidden in the mud. Powerful springs in the
base held the three sides tightly together. And, to prevent escape, prison-like
bars ran through each triangle so that no large openings were to be found.
As the pilgrims outside the
cage sloshed toward those trapped within it, suddenly they stepped into
three-foot-deep pits filled with a sticky, tar-like substance. “Help!” several
men cried out as they sank up to their waists in the sticky, viscous slime.
[Viscous: This
refers to a substance which is thick, sticky, and reluctant to flow.]
They dropped their
broadswords and shields in order to attempt crawling out of the sticky tar. As
they did, large, dark-blue scorpions scurried out from under ferns and over to
the pilgrims. The arachnids swiftly grabbed the swords. With ten holding each
broadsword in their pinchers, the blue scorpions brought the weapons beyond the
reach of the trapped knights.
After a full minute of
floundering in the tar-like substance, Bartholomew said, “This is just great.
We are stuck in a pit of sticky tar. But, this tar is like none I’ve seen. I
can’t get out, no matter how hard I try. What has God done in leading us this
way?”
As he spoke, large, red
scorpions had stealthily entered the pyramidal cage. Seeing them, the pilgrims
backed away, with fear. The large scorpions reached into the mud and drew out
the swords the pilgrim’s had dropped.
“Get away from us,” Henry
shouted at the red arachnids as they scuttled past him.
With seven clutching a single
sword in their pinchers, the creatures scurried off toward gaps between bars in
the cage. All of the pilgrims’ weapons were now gone.
Suddenly, loud and heavy
sloshing sounds abruptly came from the fog beyond the trapped pilgrims. Squish.
Slosh. Splash. Squish. Slosh.
“What is that?” Captain
Herring said with fear in his voice.
More sloshing sounds
followed. To Markus, they resembled the sound of huge feet stepping through a
mire. Splash. Squish. Slosh. Soon, the massive figure of a giant emerged
from the dense fog.
Bartholomew’s jaw dropped as
he looked up at the monster.
Towering above his 15
prisoners at a height of 25 feet, the giant wore a suit of dark-grey armor, a great
helm, and a black and red surcoat. The horns of a bull sprouted from either
side of the great helm and gave him an even more menacing appearance.
[Great helm: This
was a sturdy, wide, bucket-shaped helmet often worn by crusaders during the
Middle Ages. The helmet was made of steel and had small slits (called
occularium) for the eyes and for breathing. The top of the helmet was flat and
sometimes was decorated with horns. It protected the entire head and face of a
knight.]
“You pilgrims have reached
the end,” the giant said with a deep, booming voice as he approached the men
trapped in the pits filled with sticky tar.
Captain Herring swallowed
nervously.
The huge creature’s great
helm completely concealed his head and face. In his left hand, he carried a
huge, iron mace. The thick, metal club bristled with sharp spikes. And, his
right hand clutched a cube-shaped, wooden cage large enough to hold three
people.
[Mace: This was a
club weapon from the Middle Ages. It had a spherical, spiked, metal head.]
“What are you going to do
with us?” Andrew said with some fear in his voice.
More sloshing sounds
penetrated the damp air, and a second giant came out of the fog. He was
slightly shorter than the first and also wore knight’s armor. In his wide left
hand, he carried a double-sided battle axe. ‘That axe head appears to be at
least two and a half feet in length,’ Markus thought as he looked up at the
weapon. The monster’s right hand also held a wooden cage.
Bartholomew began praying,
feeling fear clutch his stomach.
“You will see what we do with
you,” the first giant said, in reply to Andrew. Then, he made a deep, evil
chuckle as he set his wooden cage down near the men in the pyramidal trap.
The two giants stuffed four
men into each wooden cage and sealed the cages shut with steel locks. Then, the
monsters hoisted them onto their backs and sloshed through the marsh in the
direction they had come from. Seven men remained in the tar pits, trying
desperately to escape.
Four minutes later, two other
giants came sloshing through the mire. They set down two cages and grabbed the
men stuck in the tar pits.
Half a mile passed before the
first two giants set Markus and the other pilgrims down. Opening the two cages,
the evil creatures dropped the pilgrims into the mud–splat–and lightly
clubbed them over the heads, knocking them unconscious. The giants placed the
eight pilgrim knights into a large net, which was attached to a long chain
wound around a metal cylinder or spool.
Near the spool was a crank with a ratchet
and a metal crane arm. The spool, the crank, and the crane arm were
fastened to a flat, granite boulder. A pulley was attached to one end of the
crane arm. Nearby was a huge, gaping hole which dropped far below into a deep
pit.
Once everything was situated,
one monster began lowering the net into the pit using the crank and crane arm.
[Spool: A cylinder
on which a cord, a rope, a metal chain, or something else is wound.] [Crank: A shaft or cylinder which
has an attached handle or arm. Someone turns the crank handle and causes the
cylinder or shaft to rotate.] [Ratchet:
A ratchet is made of a metal wheel with notches in it. It includes a hinged
catch (or pawl) to check the motion of the wheel and keep the wheel turning in
only one direction.] [Crane arm:
A crane is a device used to lift or lower heavy objects. A crane arm is a long
arm or beam which has pulleys (grooved wheels) for cords, ropes, or cables to
pass through.]
In the Pit
Once it was near the bottom
of the pit, the giants drew up one corner of the net, and the dazed pilgrims
landed in a heap on a hard, glassy surface. Markus stirred and rolled over. He
had fallen onto Andrew, but the armor had kept his friend from being injured.
“Oh, my head is throbbing,”
Henry groaned.
“Mine too,” Captain Herring
said, shaking his head.
“Where are we?” Gregory said,
stirring.
“I don’t know,” Markus said.
Markus looked up the length
of the deep shaft. In the weak, overcast daylight, he could see that the shaft
was lined with a shiny, glassy material. ‘A very hot fire must have been placed
in this pit along with some kind of glass-forming substance,’ he thought.
“I think we are in trouble,”
Bartholomew said.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
A little later, the two other
giants arrived at the top of the pit with the remaining seven prisoners. They
lumbered over to their comrades, carrying cages on their backs. The seven
pilgrims were knocked unconscious and placed into the net. Then, they also were
lowered into the deep shaft.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
“Look,” Henry said, pointing
up at the shaft entrance.
Markus looked up and saw the
net descending from the crane arm. It contained the rest of the pilgrims. He
was relieved to see that they were going to be all together. No one was lost
among them or imprisoned separately. But then, fear attacked him as he thought
about the pit. There was no way out of the pit that he could see.
“God has abandoned us,
folks,” Bartholomew said despairingly when the net with the seven other
pilgrims had reached the ground.
“God has not abandoned us,”
Markus said, turning to Bartholomew.
“Then, why are we here?” the
captain said, eying Markus.
“God has not abandoned us,”
Markus said again, “because God said this in His Word in Hebrews chapter 13,
verses 5 and 6: ‘[5] Let your conversation be without
covetousness ; and be content with such things as ye have :
for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. [6] So that we may
boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man
shall do unto me.’ [Hebrews 13:5-6.]”
The pilgrims spoke with each
other a little longer. As they did, the net was raised to the surface.
“We have no hope,”
Bartholomew said after a time, moaning.
“Look!” a former sailor
cried, pointing up at the top of the shaft.
Markus and the others looked
up. The metal crane arm was pivoted out over the shaft entrance high above.
From the steel crane arm hung a chain which was fastened to a metal cage. The
cage appeared to contain some species of carnivorous wild animals, and the
creatures restlessly walked back and forth. They could be seen through a
grating of metal bars in the lower end of the cage.
“What is that?” Henry said,
looking up at the metal cage in the shaft opening high above.
“I don’t know,” Andrew said
as he stared at it, nearly dumbfounded.
The giants were turning the crank
and the cage descended, foot by foot, down the shaft.
After half a minute had
passed, Andrew said, “I have fairly good vision. Those creatures that are
pacing back and forth in the cage are … male lions!”
“Lions!” Captain Herring
exclaimed. “We are in big trouble. They ferociously devour their prey and have
great strength to kill and tear. We are doomed.”
“I count seven lions.
And, they look very fierce,” Henry said, troubled.
“I can see a rope fastened to
some kind of a mechanism for opening a cage door,” Gregory said as he gazed up
at the object of concern. “Once that lion cage reaches us, those giants will
release them with a tug of the rope.”
“We have armor,” Andrew said
with some nervousness in his voice.
“But, those beasts could tear
off our helmets,” Gregory said fearfully.
“We need to pray,” Markus
said gravely. “I realize I should have sought God back when the fog was
starting to get thick, shortly after we entered this swamp.”
“You’re right,” Andrew said,
lowering his head with shame. “I should have sought God sooner too.”
“Father God,” Markus said,
closing his eyes and praying, “we are facing a terrible death because we made a
poor decision. We didn’t seek your will when we entered this swamp. And, we
lost sight of the path, which I believe would take us slightly above the swamp.
Forgive us for not seeking you and depending on you. But now, we face this
grave threat. What do we do now, Father God? We trust our lives into your care.
And, we trust that you will show us the answer for the way of escape
from this trap.”
“After all,” Andrew added, in
prayer, “Father God, your Word, the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 10:13, says
that you always provide a way of escape from every trial and temptation.”
When Andrew had finished his
prayer, Markus said, “I remember the words of 1 Corinthians 10:13. It
says: ‘[13] There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man
: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able ; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’”
Henry looked up at the cage
and pointed at it. His eyes were opened wide. “Look up there,” he said.
Markus, Andrew, and the other
men gazed up at the cage and saw that it was now just 35 feet above them. The
lions were looking hungrily at the pilgrims through gaps in the metal grating.
Fear began strongly attacking
Markus and his friends. So, they again began praying fervently for God’s
protection and deliverance. After a couple minutes had passed, Markus glanced
up at the cage and saw that it was now about 24 feet above them. It was too
close for comfort.
Then, a lion roared,
and the prayer time was disrupted.
“God has forsaken us,” a man
shouted with terror in his heart.
Men began panicking and
desperately trying to find a way out of the glassy tunnel, but it was too
slippery to climb. And, the lions were above them, ready to be released. Fear
squeezed the men like a boa constrictor.
“There is no hope!” a former
sailor cried. “We are doomed!”
Then, Markus closed his eyes
and began silently pouring out his heart to God. He told his Abba Father God
all his fears, worries, and concerns. Then, he repented of giving ground to the
enemy by way of the fear. Peace began to return to Markus as he surrendered his
anxieties and fears to his Heavenly Father. The roaring of the lions did not
draw his attention away from God as he sought Him in prayer.
“Markus, My son, I love you
very much,” God’s kind and caring voice said to his spirit. “I have heard all
your troubles and fears, and I will take them from you since you have given
them to Me. Rest in Me, My son. The lions will not do you any hurt. I will
deliver you. Be patient, and the deliverance will come. Tell your friends what
I have shown you. And, I the LORD your God and Abba Father have spoken.”
“Thank you, Father God,”
Markus said. “I will tell them.”
He looked up and said loudly,
“Can I have your attention, brothers?”
Some men were cowering in a
corner and placing their hands over their heads with extreme fear. Others
pounded the ground with frustration and fear, almost wishing they had never
become pilgrims.
“Can I have your attention,
please?” Markus said louder. “God has told me He will deliver us. He will
deliver us. The lions will do no harm to us, God told me.”
Several of the men began to
calm down. Then, the others slowly quieted themselves and turned to face
Markus.
“Could you say that again?”
one of the former sailors said as he slowly stood. He had been crouching in a
corner with his hands on his head.
Markus repeated it again.
Then, he said: “Before David became the king of Israel, he told King Saul that
God had delivered him from the paw of a lion. 1 Samuel chapter 17, verse 37,
says: ‘[37] David said moreover, The Lord that delivered
me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear,
he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said
unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.’[1 Samuel 17:37.]” [Underlining added.]
Andrew looked at Markus and
said, “I remember now Psalm 18, verses 1 through 3. It says: ‘[1] I will love
thee, O Lord, my strength. [2] The Lord
is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer
; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust ; my buckler,
and the horn of my salvation, and my high
tower. [3] I will call upon the Lord, who is
worthy to be praised : so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ [Psalm
18:1-3.]” [Underlining added.]
[Buckler: A buckler
is a small, round shield.]
Then, the troubled sailor
breathed a sigh of relief. “Markus Christian, I believe you heard from God,” he
said. “He will deliver us. Yes, I do believe that He will deliver us.”
Markus looked up at the cage,
out of curiosity, and he suddenly felt fear jab his chest. The lion cage was
now 14 feet above the pilgrims. It was lowering still. The vicious beasts
within appeared to have an appetite for the pilgrims. They greedily stared down
at the men below and licked their lips.
Markus’s eye was drawn to the
dangling rope which was fastened to the release mechanism on the cage door. The
long cord was rippling as waves passed down its length. He tried to gaze up at
the giants above, but he couldn’t see them since the cage was blocking his
view.
Then, Markus felt the Holy
Spirit convict him to surrender his fears again. So he did, and peace returned
again.
“Brothers,” Markus said to
the pilgrims, “we are facing a challenge to our faith. Are we going to trust
God or trust our own minds?”
“I will choose to trust God,”
Andrew said, trying not to look up at the descending cage. “The carnal mind is
God’s enemy. It is enmity with God. That is what Romans 8:6-8 says. I remember it now. It says: ‘[6] For to
be carnally minded is death ; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
[7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. [8] So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’”
“That is right, Andrew. We …”
Markus started to say when a loud roar suddenly filled the shaft.
It drowned out his words, and he again felt fear pass through his body.
Looking up, he saw the lion
cage was now 9 feet above his head. Another hungry roar issued
from a lion’s mouth. Feeling the power of fear squeezing him, Markus shut his
eyes and said out loud, “Father God, we give you all our fears. You know us and
you know how much we struggle to believe you. Help us to rest in you and obey
you. Help us to trust you. We thank you that you will deliver us from these
lions and from this pit.” He prayed some more things.
“Look, the cage is being
raised,” a former sailor said, pointing up. He was trembling with a mixture of
fear and excitement.
Markus opened his eyes and
looked. The cage with the lions was indeed being raised. It was now 12 feet
above their heads. Then, the lion cage began rising faster and faster. Soon, it
was halfway up the deep shaft. A minute later, it was at the top of the shaft.
The crane with the cage was now being hinged out of the shaft entrance by
knights wearing golden armor.
The Rope of Faith
The ends of 15, long ropes
suddenly came plummeting down the shaft. They thumped against the glassy floor.
Each rope had a paper note attached to it by a string. A word appeared on each
label: “Rope of Faith.” Markus and the other pilgrim knights grabbed the
ropes and tied them around their armpits. Then, the ropes were raised, drawing
up the captives. Before long, all ten were standing in the marsh a short distance
from the shaft entrance. With great happiness, the pilgrims thanked the golden
knights who had rescued them.
But, Markus knew it was God
who had answered his prayer and the prayers of the others. God’s grace had
brought him up out of the pit and away from the fierce lions. God’s grace had
called out to him when he was turning his heart away from the Almighty to seek
his own will.
Markus knew that if he had
sought his Heavenly Father’s will, he wouldn’t have got caught in the trap of
the giants. He remembered seeing words in red paint on their helmets. The first
giant Markus had seen was named “Selfishness and Pride.” The other was named
“Deception.”
“Father God, I was being
selfish and proud to think that I could solve the problem of where to go when I
was lost in the swamp. I had arrogantly thought that I had no need to seek you
even when the fog became so thick,” Markus said. “If I had sought you earlier,
would I have had to go through this hardship?”
“My son, I would not have
allowed the test you went through to be so strong if you had sought Me. But,
this test was to refine you and prepare you for Heaven. You are special
to Me, very much so. I love you and I will guide you. Just rest
in Me, and think about who I am, and you will do well. And, I the LORD
your God and Abba Father have spoken.”
“Thank you, Father God,”
Markus said. “Your words are comforting.”
“You are welcome, My son,”
God said gently. “I am always here for you, and I will never leave you, nor
forsake you, as My Word says in Deuteronomy 31:6. My son, it says, ‘Be strong and
of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them : for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go
with thee ; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ And so, I
shall not ever fail you or forsake you. Rest in Me, and you will do well.”
“Thank you, Heavenly Father,”
Markus said.
“You’re welcome,” God replied
with warmth in his voice.
Markus turned his attention
back to his brothers in Christ. He overheard Henry nearby speaking with a
golden knight.
“What happened to the
giants?” Henry asked the knight.
“Fifty of us drove them away.
Then, we raised the lion cage from the pit. You can see it over there,” the
golden knight said, pointing toward the cage.
It rested ten feet from the
edge of the pit and it was still fastened to the metal crane arm. Inside the
cage, the lions paced back and forth, desiring to escape.
“What will happen to those
lions?” Markus asked the knight with the gold-colored armor.
“We will release them once
you are far away,” the golden knight said, turning toward him. “Food shall be
given them to satisfy their hunger.”
“Sir, I wonder if this
marshland has a name?” Markus said. “It has been a very hard place to travel
through.”
“It does. This land is the swamp
of Self-preservation. Those who seek to save their lives shall lose
them, as our Lord Jesus Christ has said,” the golden knight replied.
“I think that is from Luke
chapter 17, verse 33,” Markus said. “I remember that Jesus said, ‘[33] Whosoever shall
seek to save his life shall lose it ; and whosoever shall lose his life shall
preserve it.’”
“That it right, friend,” the
warrior in golden armor said. “Earlier, you and your friends had not sought God
but had depended on your own minds. In doing so, you were trying to preserve
the self. As you know, the carnal, human mind is an enemy of God. Romans
chapter 8, verse 7 says, ‘[7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ [Romans
8:7.]”
“That
is sobering,” Markus said. “I want to follow Jesus, and not my own mind.”
“That is good,” the golden
knight said. “But, you yourself are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. However,
your carnal mind is not redeemed. When you enter Heaven, it will be completely
gone from you. Now come, and I will show you something.”
A dozen golden knights then
took the 15 pilgrims through the swamp until they were 50 feet away from the
deep pit. As the men walked, the fog began to dissipate enough for them to see
a hundred feet in all directions. Stopping in an open area, the golden knights
spoke with the pilgrims and pointed up toward a raised, hardwood platform which
rested atop eight, stone pillars. Beside it stood a tall, stone tower with crenels.
[Crenel: This
is an opening in a parapet which used for
shooting arrows or other projectiles.] [Parapet: In castles, a
parapet is a low wall built on top of towers, fortified buildings, and
defensive walls. It protects archers when they fire arrows down at enemy
soldiers.]
“That is sure something,”
Henry said, looking up at the construction and giving a low whistle.
The platform appeared to be
about 20 feet above the ground. And, it was about 60 feet wide by 90 feet long.
A small, thatch-roofed cottage sat atop the platform, covering half of its
area.
“What is that?” Markus said,
gazing up at the structure, with wide-opened eyes.
The platform was connected to
a long, elevated walkway which passed through the teak trees. Strong wooden
beams – connected together by oaken girders and triangular crosspieces –
held aloft the walkway, the extremities of which faded into the fog.
“That is an elevated walkway
designed for the protection of pilgrims who come this way,” a golden knight
said, in response.
“That is amazing,” Andrew
said nearby.
The golden knights led the
men up to the stone tower, which was about 30 feet high. As the pilgrims neared
the tower and platform, two huge angels suddenly materialized out of thin air.
They were carrying flaming broadswords and wearing long, white robes and golden
sandals.
Several pilgrims fell to their
knees, in fear.
“Oh,” Captain Herring said,
fearfully, “what, what… Who are you?”
Kind expressions appeared on
the angels’ noble faces, which were clean-shaven and handsome. Their white-gold
hair fell down to the level of their chins. Kindness radiated from their eyes
which had golden irises.
“Stand up, pilgrims,” an
angel said. “You have nothing to fear. We are servants of the Most High God,
who is our Creator and Father, and He is your Father and Creator too. We are
keepers of the road of faith. When you walk on the way of faith, we keep you
from stumbling and falling, by holding off the enemy. But God is the One who
protects you, and leads you, and upholds you.”
The other angel said, “Go in
peace and be certain that God shall never leave you. He will always guide you
to your destination. Follow His Spirit, and you will never go wrong.”
With that, the two huge
angels vanished into thin air. The former sailors and their captain were
shaking their heads with wonderment and amazement. They had never seen anything
like this before. But, peace began to settle over them.
After a half a minute of
speechless amazement passed, the men began to praise God for His goodness in
delivering them from the lions and from the pit, and for sending His angels to
encourage them. But, Markus knew that it was God he was following, not angelic
beings. It was the Bible and Abba God’s Spirit that he followed most of all.
[Note: Angels can
appear to people, but sometimes they are not God’s angels. God’s angels always
bring the truth from God’s Word, the Bible. Fallen angels bring lies and
deceptions. Paul warned about a false gospel or false message that men or
fallen angels will teach. Such a false message or teaching contradicts the
Bible and God’s Name. Galatians 1:8 says: ‘[1] But though we,
or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we
have preached unto you, let him be accursed.’”]
“Now, enter that tower and
you will be on your way,” a golden knight said motioning toward the stone tower
near the platform.
A set of narrow, stone stairs
ascended up to a steel door about a third of the way up the tower.
“God bless you men,” a
different golden knight said before he turned away and walked into the forest.
Markus and his companions
looked at each other with amazement and then climbed the stairs. At the top of
the staircase, they found that the steel door was unlocked. Pushing it open,
Markus saw a set of spiral stairs through the doorway. He began ascending these
until he reached another steel door higher up the tower. He pushed it open and
beheld the wooden platform and the small cottage through the door. The cottage
had a thatched roof, wattle-and-daub siding, and a few windows with flower
baskets.
“I wonder what’s in that
cottage,” Markus said as he stepped onto the platform.
When he reached it, Markus
pushed open a wooden door in the half-timbered building and saw a cozy dwelling
space containing a stone fireplace, a kitchen area, a living room, a bathroom,
and a bedroom. A golden knight was standing over a wooden table and slicing up
onions. A savory smell wafted up from a kettle hanging from a hook over a
bright, crackling fire in the fireplace.
“What are you cooking?” he
said.
“I’m preparing a stew for you
pilgrims,” the golden knight said kindly.
“It smells good,” Markus
said, smiling.
Before long, all 15 pilgrims
had entered the cottage. Their noses quickly detected a delicious smell coming
from the hanging kettle.
“Stay and enjoy a meal I am
preparing for you hungry travelers,” the golden knight said after he had
stirred the stew a little.
“My stomach is growling,”
Henry said. “I sure would love to try that stew.”
The pilgrims gladly remained
in the cottage the rest of that day and rested. They had been assured by their
host that their enemies, the giants, were being chased away by dozens of golden
knights.
“That is good to know,”
Andrew had said with relief, after hearing that news.
Several former sailors and
their captain sat near the fireside and told stories of life on the sea and
other adventures. Then, the group ate a hearty dinner of beef stew. When they
were finished with the meal, they helped to wash the dishes. Afterward, they
gathered in the living room and read from Bibles which their host provided for
them, and prayed as a group. Following the corporate prayer time, they sought
God privately, and then went to sleep on the floor. Blankets and sleeping pads
had also been provided for them by their kind host.
The Elevated Walkway
Many hours later, long after
the sun had risen, the 15 pilgrims were walking along the elevated walkway 22
miles from the cottage. Railings prevented them from accidentally falling down
to the forest below. They no longer had to get their sabatons (i.e. armored shoes) bogged down in the swamp,
which was 20 feet below them. Walking at a quick pace, without any haversacks
on their backs, the pilgrim knights covered the miles with relative ease.
They had been reassured by
the golden knight that God would later bring their horses to them, along with
gear and provisions. That freed them up to walk briskly. Before long, they saw
that the swamp below them was turning into an evergreen forest with fallen pine
needles and firm earth. Soon, the elevated platform began to descend at a
gradual angle toward the ground.
Once the walkway reached the
forest floor, the pilgrims stepped off it and gazed up at the trees.
“Look, there is a sign here,”
Dmitri Caballo, one of Captain Herring’s men, said.
Markus turned toward Dmitri
and saw him pointing toward a wooden sign planted near a dirt path.
Dmitri said, “This sign says:
‘Pilgrims, take this path and you will reach a new challenge. Remain and rest
in God’s sphere of protection, and you will be safe. Look to God and behold
His love. Follow the path and, again, rest in God’s sphere of protection,
which is His best will for you.’ Psalm 119, verse 105 says: ‘[105] Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet, and a light unto my path.’ [Psalm
119:105.]”
“Well, let’s go then,” Markus
said, walking quickly down the trail. He wanted to get through the challenge
quickly as possible and by looking to God.
The others followed him and
drew their broadswords, wondering what new challenges awaited them. As they
walked, they had no knowledge that someone was pursuing them through the woods –
someone who meant them harm.
[Read BOOK 2: Chapters 5 and 6 here.]
[Read BOOK 2: Chapter 7 and 8 here.]
[Read BOOK 2: Chapters 9 and 10 here.]
[Read BOOK 2: Chapters 11 and 12 here.]
[Read BOOK 2: Chapters 9 and 10 here.]
[Read BOOK 2: Chapters 11 and 12 here.]
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